Mary and the Giant was written in 1953. It features Mary Anne Reynolds a woman determined to make her own way in the world. But Pacific Park, California, in the 1950s is not really the place for Mary. Her relationship with a black singer offends against the small town's views on sexual mores and exposes its bigoted views on race. This is a powerful portrayal of the claustrophobia of small-town California, and Mary Anne Reynolds is one of the most memorable characters Dick ever created.

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From the back cover of the 1987 Arbor House edition

Praise for Philip K. Dick and MARY AND THE GIANT

"Fifty or a hundred years from now, Dick may very well be recognized in retrospect as the greatest American novelist of the second half of the twentieth century.. .once time erodes the significance of sales figures and cultural fads, hype and, fleeting fame, ghetto categorizations and literary politics, his work will stand alone on its own terms: unique, vast, and almost too deep to comprehend in the fullness of its vision" – Norman Spinrad
"On finishing the book, you might think, 'Damn, Philip K. Dick was a pretty good mainstream writer, too: And then it creeps up on you, remembering all the things he did so well in the book, and you realize it's more than 'pretty good: It's deceptively quiet-oh, there's sex and violence, but not in the usual dosage, nor is it presented luridly (even for the 1950s, when Mary's relationship with a black man would have been controversial, to say the least). Only after you've finished it do you realize that Dick's slice-of-life is more clear sighted, thoughtful, and sensitive than most so-called classics" – Pat Cadigan
"Boy, that guy was good! It's a fine strong portrait of a waking soul in a sleeping culture, and how (if you care to read it that way) the only satisfactory solution offered in that sleeping culture is for her to quench herself in its rituals. The fact that Mary is not a genius, nor an artist, and that she comes from a small town of no distinction, makes the story wonderfully refreshing and only strengthens the impact". –Suzy McKee Charnas

From the back cover of the St Martin Press edition

"Mary lives in a universe of leaky pots.... "

During his lifetime, Philip K. Dick was best known for his science fiction novels, including such acknowledged masterworks as The Man in the High Castle and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which was made into the film Blade Runner. But Dick was also a powerful chronicler of ordinary life in 1950s California, as he proved in several novels that are only now coming to light. Mary and the Giant is the finest of these, a poignant, powerful tale that remains as strong and relevant today as the day it was written. Mary Anne Reynolds yearns to escape the confines of Pacific Park,California; of her abusive father; and of her stifling existence. Her struggle for identity leads her to the California jazz scene, to several older men, and to a reality as strange and gripping as any of Philip Dick's science fiction. Mary and the Giant is an extraordinary work, a deeply affecting tale of hope and tragedy as seen through the eyes of a frighteningly real young woman.
"This slice-of-life novel, a classic tale of 1950's frustration, has considerable literary merit both for characterization and the vividness of its setting.... Even now, it has a strong sense of relevancy and deserves a wide readership."– Library Journal
"When Philip K. Dick was a beginning writer, he wrote about half a dozen mainstream novels. . . . Mary and the ,Giant is far and away the best of the bunch." – Lotus
"An early and revealing novel by this later master of what we 100 narrowly term science fiction."– Los Angeles Times

From the back cover of the 1988 Gollancz edition

Following In Milton Lumky Territory and Humpty Dumpty in Oakland this is the latest - and perhaps the best - of the unpublished novels found among Philip K. Dick's effects. It is a compellingly real portrait of small-town California in the early 1950's, and its central character, Mary Anne Reynolds, is among the most convincing Dick ever created. Its treatment of racial and sexual issues. is startling for a book written more than thirty years ago, and still today has the power to stop the reader short. "There are tough, vivid portrayals throughout... The narrative voice is clear and sensitive, forcing sympathies in unlikely places" (New York Times Book Review).

From the back cover of the Paladin edition

LIFE AND LOVE IN 1950s CALIFORNIA
"This is the sixth mainstream novel by the late science fiction writer to be brought into print, and it is becoming increasingly clear that he is one of the most compelling chroniclers of life and love in 1950s California that we have had. This novel concerns Mary Ann Reynolds, a strong-willed but frightened woman of 20 who has difficulty giving and accepting love despite her best intentions. It also profiles the men who care for her, describing her troubled affairs with a self involved black lounge singer and with a warm, intelligent record-store owner and music lover nearly 40 years her senior. Mary Ann's increasing self-awareness and consequent desperation are beautifully delineated. Dick has brought the people and ambience of small-town California vividly to life in this bitter-sweet story." PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

From the back cover of the 2004 Gollancz edition

Mary Anne Reynolds is a young and vulnerable woman, determined to make her own way in the world. But Pacific Park, California, in the 1950s is not really the place for Mary. Her relationship with a black singer offends against the small town's views on sexual mores and exposes its bigoted views on race. This is a powerful portrayal of the claustrophobia of small-town California, and Mary Anne Reynolds is one of the most memorable characters Dick ever created.